In ancient times, people knew why they can not demonstrate their good fortune and happiness: it can cause jealousy and anger of the gods, because they believed that happiness is their, gods, privilege, and daring people who want the same thing, should be punished.

The main heroine of the picture Sonia (Vera Alentova) is an editor in television, she has a son, a graduate of the school, and her husband Sergei (Aleksandr Feklistov) is a quite successful Soviet writer.

One day to visit them a Frenchman Bernard (Gérard Depardieu) comes, whom Sergei met while working on a book about the French Resistance, accompanied by a French translator of Russian descent named André (Anatoly Lobotsky).

André falls in love with Sonia at first sight and emphatically tries to get a new meeting with her.

But they soon have to separate because their countries belong to different worlds, divided by the Iron Curtain.